The refurbishment of the fourth Candu reactor at the Darlington nuclear power station in Ontario, Canada, has wrapped up four months ahead of schedule and CAD150 million (€92 million, $109 million) under the total budget of CAD12.8 billion.
Unit 4 was the last reactor to be refurbished in this four-unit project that kicked off in October 2016 with Unit 2’s upgrades.
On February 2, the Ontario government announced that Unit 4, which is an 878-MW Candu unit that started commercial operations back in 1993, is expected to be back online later this month. The staff at the station are currently finishing up final tests before returning to full commercial operation.
The statement indicated that this significant project ensures over 3,500 MW of clean, dependable energy for Ontario’s expanding electrified future. It also highlighted that this refurbishment is the largest completed nuclear refurbishment globally and will generate enough electricity to power around 3.5 million homes while supporting approximately 14,200 jobs over the next three decades.
The Darlington refurbishment involved a complete revamp of all four nuclear reactor units, extending the lifespan of the station until at least 2055.
This work included replacing thousands of fuel channels, feeder tubes, calandria tubes, and end fittings along with restoring other essential components. The initiative also featured system enhancements and plant upgrades to comply with regulatory standards.
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Nuclear Energy Remains Essential for Ontario’s Clean Grid
Nuclear energy continues to be a key part of Ontario’s clean electricity supply, accounting for about half of the province’s energy needs. Ontario Power Generation (OPG), which owns and operates Darlington, mentioned it will apply insights gained from this project to ensure success in its small modular reactor (SMR) initiative at Darlington as well as during renovations at the Pickering nuclear station. In May, both the Ontario government and OPG greenlit plans to construct one out of four BWRX-300 SMRs at Darlington. In November, OPG received official approval from Ontario to start refurbishing four nuclear units at Pickering. The overhaul plan for Pickering’s four units shares some aspects with Darlington’s lengthy life-extension work-like replacing 380 fuel channels per reactor-but involves greater complexity. Unlike in Darlington’s case, Pickering’s project will require replacing all 48 steam generators-a first for Ontario’s Candu reactors. This initiative also includes building a new deep-water intake system stretching 1.5 kilometers to access cooler cooling water-a feature missing from Pickering’s original design. Energy Minister Stephen Lecce stated: “In a world of uncertainty, our government is doubling down on Canadian nuclear technology and workers, with 96 percent of investment benefiting Ontario’s supply chain.” “It is a tremendous industrial advantage that Canada is among only six nations that own civilian nuclear technology; yet we stand alone as number one in building, operating and refurbishing projects on-time and on-budget.” OPG is set to begin refurbishing four nuclear power units at Pickering. Courtesy OPG.Source link
